Research

Hormonal

In normotensive premenopausal women, visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and insulin resistance are directly associated with elevated plasma aldosterone levels, independent of plasma renin activity.

For women, reducing visceral fat through weight loss is likely to lower aldosterone levels, which may help manage blood pressure and cardiovascular risk, independent of standard kidney-based hormone regulation. This suggests that visceral fat reduction has specific hormonal benefits for women that may not be as pronounced in men.

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Plasma aldosterone in women correlated directly with visceral adipose tissue (r=0.66, p<0.001) and inversely with insulin sensitivity (r=-0.67, p<0.001), and these associations were independent of plasma renin activity.
Theodore L. Goodfriend et al. · Obesity Research · 1999

Why this rating

Randomized controlled weight loss component with rigorous measurement (CT scans, glucose clamps) in a specific demographic, though limited by sample size (n=28 women).

Source

Visceral Obesity and Insulin Resistance Are Associated with Plasma Aldosterone Levels in Women

Theodore L. Goodfriend et al. · Obesity Research · 1999

DOI 10.1002/j.1550-8528.1999.tb00418.x

cohort · n=55Cited 231×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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